Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah ordered on Friday to reopen the Saudi
mission in Egypt, after it was shut last week in the wake of angry
protests.

The SPA state news agency, quoting an unnamed official, said that the
king “instructed the kingdom´s ambassador to Cairo to resume his post
on Sunday, and ordered the reopening of the embassy and the
consulates in Alexandria and Suez.”

The decision was announced after Abdullah received a top ranking
Egyptian delegation, a day after it arrived in the kingdom on a
mission to defuse tension between Cairo and Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador on Saturday, after angry
protests broke out outside its Cairo embassy following the arrest in
the kingdom of an Egyptian human rights lawyer. Riyadh claimed he was
in possession of drugs.

King Abdullah was quoted by AFP as having told the delegation the
recent deterioration in ties was “painful to every honest Saudi and
Egyptian citizen,” and the kingdom´s decision to shut its
embassy “was only to protect its staff.”

He welcomed the Egyptian delegation´s visit, the report said, saying
that with “such an honorable position I can only say that we shall
not allow this passing crisis to last long.”

The monarch also urged “Egyptian and Saudi media to take an honorable
stance, and to speak good or shut up,” alluding to fierce campaigns
waged in both countries since the crisis flared up.

The delegation is headed by Egypt´s parliament speaker Saad al-
Katatni and the head of the consultative council Ahmed Fahmi.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told the delegation that
Riyadh does not rule out that “foreign element,” could have plotted
to cause the tension between the two Arab heavyweights, according to
an SPA report on Thursday.